Field Investigator Ronald Simjian has forwarded the following information pertaining to a case he investigated in 1975: The date: August 1.

At about 6:05 p.m. EDT, 14-year-old Brad Condon arrived at a lake just downstream from Trinity Lake parked his bicycle and crawled under a fence to gain access to the lake. He fished the lake until some time after 7 p.m. during which time he noted a small airplane apparently engaged in stall practice, for the drone of the engine would suddenly diminish and then return to its original intensity repeatedly. (Nearby Westchester County Airport has two flying schools.) After 7 p.m. he left that area and went to Trinity Lake, and, using some stepping stones, walked out into shallow water and continued to fish.

At about 8 p.m., the sun had sunk below some trees on the far side of Trinity Lake, and shortly thereafter, at 8:25 p.m., a movement in the sky caught Condon's attention and looking up he noted an orange-glowing spherical object with the approximate size of a marble held at arm's length. Condon's first thought was that it was a meteor and he noted the time on his wristwatch so he could later check observatories to see if they had recorded it. Then he realized it was not a meteor; it left no trail, and was moving too slowly. It did not appear to be fiery or burning as would be the case if it had been a meteor entering the atmosphere. He fully realized that he was watching something unusual when it changed direction and began circling the lake.

It was later determined by Mr. Simjian that when first noticed, the object was at an elevation of about 40 degrees and an azimuth of about 315 degrees. It traveled on a southerly track on a possibly curved course, maintaining approximately the same angle of elevation and changing azimuth to approximately 270 degrees. It then circled back to close to its original position, probably now at a lower altitude, as Brad thought it seemed a little larger. It presented a sharply defined outline against the sky, there was no haze surrounding the object and it showed no structural details and emitted a uniform glow.

After circling, the object came to an abrupt stop. The elapsed time from first visual contact until the object stopped was estimated at about ten seconds. After stopping at approximately 315 degrees azimuth, the object began an extremely slow vertical decent. As Brad watched, he became aware that the object was now a bright glowing white. He did not notice the change of color. “It was orange. Then all of a sudden, I realized that it was white.” It was still well above the trees on the far side of the lake.

The air was calm and the surface of the lake was glassy smooth. Bats flitted about, apparently undisturbed by the strange intruder.

Brad continued to watch as the object slowly settled toward the lake's surface. He said it was so slow that it was like watching the minute hand of a clock - you know it's moving, but can hardly perceive its progress. When the object was about midway between the tops of the trees and the surface of the lake, a nauseating odor "somewhat like rotten eggs" suddenly hit Brad, and he took one whiff and bent over and vomited. He retched a couple of times, then looked back up to the UFO which was by then just above the surface of the water and Brad began to hear a slight hissing sound. There was no splashdown; the object slowly settled into the water. Complete submersion took about two minutes and ripples radiated out from the object's location. When the object was totally submerged Brad glanced at his watch - it was 8:35.

As it was now a half hour after sunset, darkness was setting in. Brad took his fishing gear and retraced the route he had taken to get to the lake. A burning sensation in his eyes had begun, which he attributed to the brightness of the object. He went on home and his father, seeing his agitation asked him what had happened and Brad related his experience. The two of them went back to the lake by car but found nothing unusual.

Mr. Simjian conducted a very thorough investigation and accompanying his report is an affidavit from Mr. Condon concerning Brad's emotional agitation upon arriving home after the experience. The accompanying photo is of Brad showing, by making a circle with his hands, the approximate size of the object as it touched the water. This report is one of the few but growing number of reports of UFOs actually entering bodies of water.

Reference: The National Gazetteer of the United States of America, Prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, Washington D.C., 1990 <![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]> <![endif]>